O`HARE DEER GROW, FACE EVICTION

In the Chicago version of ''Bambi Meets Godzilla,'' a United Airlines jet crunched a deer which strayed onto a runway at O`Hare International Airport in March.

Officials, fearing that the next collision might result in human fatalities, announced this week that they have no plans to wait for ''Bambi`s Revenge.''

The 70 deer living around O`Hare must be tracked, trapped and transferred to a safe location, a city official said Wednesday.

''We are using baited traps and rocket nets to trap the deer,'' said Cynthia-Val Jones, spokeswoman for the city`s Department of Aviation. Captured deer will be taken to a wildlife conservation area in Joliet.

''We`re not against wildlife,'' she said. ''But if it comes down to a wild animal and hundreds of people, you have no choice but to go with the people.''

The deer, who are monitored by the Department of Aviation, the state`s Department of Conservation and the city`s bureau of animal control, pose a threat at the airport when they stray onto runways in search of food.

In March, a United Airlines 737 jet struck an 80-pound male deer, causing no injuries to air travelers but resulting in $114,000 in damage to the aircraft, Jones said.

''Deer strikes'' have occurred at many airports around the country and resulted in millions of dollars in aircraft damage, though none of the accidents has caused a human fatality, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

The FAA has documented 43 deer strikes nationwide in the last two years.

Jones said most of the deer at O`Hare live on the west side of the airport. Some migrated from the nearby Des Plaines River forest preserves and others have been born on the grounds, she said.

Helicopter surveys showed only 40 deer on airport property last year, but as many as 70 this year, she said.